Multimark
The Multimark was a logo introduced by Canadian Pacific Railway on July 17, 1968, to identify each of its various operations.[1]
The Multimark was created by the international marketing and design firm Lippincott and Margulies. It was composed of a circle representing global activities, a triangle representing motion or direction, and in contrast, a square (sometimes elongated into a rectangle) indicating stability.[1] By the 1990s, the logo was sometimes referred to as the "Pac-Man logo" by railfans for its resemblance to the early video game character.
Industry changes
The Multimark was gradually eliminated in the 1980s as the various components of Canadian Pacific Limited changed names. CP Air became Canadian Pacific Airlines and was later sold off. CP Hotels became Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts and much later sold off. CP Express & Transport went out of business due to deregulation. CP Telecommunications was merged into CNCP Telecommunications which soon went out of business due to the changing industry. (Unitel was then created to acquire what remained.) CP Ships became Canadian Pacific Ships and was finally sold off in 2005. CP Rail became known as CP Rail System in January 1991, with the acquisition of the bankrupt American Delaware and Hudson Railway. The marketing name included Soo Line Railroad which had become 100% owned. (CPR had long had controlling interest in it).
The use of the Multimark on CP Rail slowly faded away with no official announcement. September 1987 saw the first diesel to be repainted without it, a GP7 yard engine numbered 1684[citation needed].
Legacy
While the two companies, other than owning the same ship (RMS Empress of Canada, later Mardi Gras) at different points of the ship's life, are completely unrelated, it has been said that Carnival Cruise Line's logo is a derivative of the Multimark, with the Multimark's edges being rounded out, and the colors changed to red, white and blue.[2][3]
Colours
Each operating division was assigned a different colour while taking on a new identity:
| Division | Colour | Hex triplet[4] |
|---|---|---|
| CP Rail | Action red | B71319 |
| CP Transport CP Express |
Blue | |
| CP Ships | Green | |
| CP Telecommunications | Yellow | E6B036 |
| CP Air | Orange | EE851E |
| CP Hotels | Gray | 86918B |
References
- ^ a b "CP Rail's New Image". Railmodel Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 2. Don Mills, Ontario: Doncath Publishing. April 1970. p. 6.
- ^ "Cruise marketing top 10 greatest moments". Cruise Market Watch. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ Pollard, Garland (1 March 2010). "The 'Lone Cedar' Effect and the Founding of the Carnival Brand". BrandlandUSA. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Art-Paints.com". Art-Paints.com. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- Spanner July–August 1968 A special edition of the employee magazine dedicated entirely to the corporate changes.